Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1995), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Initially signed to Atlanta-based underground label Awful Records, Carter is eventually signed to ASAP Mob's AWGE Label under Interscope Records. His eponymous debut mixtape was released on April 14, 2017, and included the Billboard Hot 100 charting singles "Magnolia" and "Woke Up Like This". Carter's debut studio album, Die Lit (2018), peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200.
Template:Infobox musical artist
Early life[]
Jordan Terrell Carter was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in Fairburn, Georgia. In a 2016 interview with Complex he stated, "My ma couldn't tell me shit. Nobody could tell me shit." This type of lifestyle influenced Carter to get into trouble as a youth and sway away from the idea of pursuing a higher level of education after high school. He attended North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs. Before rap Carter wanted to become an NBA star to try and make something of himself. In an interview with The Fader Carti said "I was a young AI and didn't go to practice. That was the time I was really ducking school and it was all hoop and no rap. I would smoke before practice, get on the court and drop 30." Growing up playing basketball Carti looked up to players like Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Vince Carter. After not showing up to practice and getting into a disagreement with his coach Carter stopped pursuing basketball as a career option and started spending more time on music. Carter skipped high school classes regularly to work on his music or go to his job at H&M which led to Carti barely graduating high school. In an interview with The Fader he said, “I was in class with freshmen finishing work, and if I finished the nine assignments before this time I could graduate.” He was so close to not graduating that no one showed up to his graduation because they didn't know he was going to graduate. Carti hated the idea of being an upcoming rapper working at H&M, so he made the decision to quit.
Carti shopped in thrift stores in his youth, something that has had an effect on his fashion and music style.
Career[]
2011–2016: Beginnings[]
Carti began rapping at an early age under the name Sir Cartier in 2011 and soon after changed it to Playboi Carti in 2013. Much of his early work has been deleted from the Internet. Once Carti chose to pursue music full-time he made the decision to move to New York with some family.Being in New York Carti had made the decision to stay at his drug dealers house.Members of ASAP were in and out of the house Carti stayed at. Eventually Carti ran into ASAP Bari a founding member of ASAP who already knew about his music. ASAP Bari eventually introduced Carti to ASAP Rocky.ASAP Rocky was so influential to Carti that he decided to stay with him in Texas instead of going back to New York.In 2015 at a show at SXSW, Carti met ASAP Rocky, who mentored Carti. He then began to attract attention in 2015 with his singles "Broke Boi" and "Fetti" featuring Da$h and Maxo Kream, both of which were published to SoundCloud. Around this time, Carti frequently collaborated with artists in Atlanta's underground rap scene, including his cousin UnoTheActivist, Thouxanbanfauni, Yung Bans, Lil Yachty, Ethereal, and producers MexikoDro, and ICYTWAT. Furthermore, he began to tour with ASAP Ferg and Lil Uzi Vert and signed a deal with Interscope Records.
In 2016, he was featured on the A$AP Mob's single "Telephone Calls" from their album Cozy Tapes Vol. 1: Friends. The same year, Carti signed to the A$AP Mob's AWGE imprint and Interscope Records.
2017–present: Playboi Carti and Die Lit[]
Carti released his eponymous debut mixtape in April 2017. The release gained attention from various music publications, including XXL, Pitchfork, Spin, HotNewHipHop, and PopMatters, and reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200. The mixtape spawned two successful singles: "Magnolia", which reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Woke Up Like This" featuring Lil Uzi Vert, which reached number 76. Accompanying the mixtape's release, Carti embarked on a tour with Gucci Mane and Dreezy. On June 13, 2017, Playboi Carti was named as one of the ten of XXL's "2017 Freshman Class". Around this time, he was featured on A$AP Mob's single "Raf" from their album Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy and Lana del Rey's single "Summer Bummer" from her album Lust For Life.
On May 11, 2018, Carti released his debut full-length album Die Lit, which peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. Over the next two years, many of Carti's songs were leaked onto the internet and accumulated tens of millions of streams. He did not release any original music, instead being featured on numerous singles, including "Baguettes in the Face" featuring NAV and A Boogie wit da Hoodie from DJ Mustard's album and "Earfquake" by Tyler the Creator. In April 2020, Carti released his first new music since 2018 with the song "@ Meh", which peaked at number 35 on the Hot 100. Carti began work on his upcoming sophomore album Whole Lotta Red late in 2018.
Modeling[]
Carter's fashion style is one of the main features of his public image. GQ has defined Carter as the "leader of a youth style", and said that he represents a stylistic midpoint between the "fashion gloss of A$AP Mob, the punk-rock attitude of Uzi Vert, and the playful camp of Yachty."
Carter's favorite brands include Raf Simons and Balmain. Carter met Simons at a fashion show in New York. Carter is featured on the song "RAF" by A$AP Mob, which was dedicated to the Raf Simons brand. The music video for the song included Carter, A$AP Rocky, and Quavo wearing rare Raf Simons clothing. Carter considers Kanye West and A$AP Rocky inspirations for his fashion style.
Carter has modeled numerous times, including for Louis Vuitton, Kanye West's Yeezy Season 5, VFiles, and Drake's OVO Lookbook, alongside Ian Connor and John Ross.
He was in a commercial for Nike, Inc. and walked the runway for Virgil Abloh and his brand Off-White. He designs for Vlone.
Musical style[]
Carter has been described as a "mumble rapper", and his music as "playful, hard-hitting, and very melodic." Complex called his style of rapping "spare and repetitive, more concerned with flow and catchy phrases." Briana Younger at Pitchfork said that "Carti’s music is less about lyricism and more about atmosphere", going on to say that "whatever Carti lacks in substance he makes up in sheer audacity." Carter's music is influenced by rappers such as Gucci Mane, Young Thug, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, Chief Keef, Yung Lean, and Lil Wayne.
Carter is known for his "baby voice" technique, characterized by his voice hitting high pitches with unclear pronunciations and frantic cadences. He has used this technique on popular songs such as "Almeda" with Solange, "Earfquake" with Tyler, the Creator, and "Pissy Pamper" with Young Nudy and Pi'erre Bourne.
The New York Times said Carti's rapping made it appear as if he was "more at ease with the performance of the role than with the actual act of rapping."
Personal life[]
In 2017, he briefly dated American model Blac Chyna. In 2018, Carter began dating Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. In 2020, TMZ reported that Azalea gave birth to a son whom he is the father of. Later, Azalea revealed their son's name to be Onyx Carter.
As of June 2019, Carter was currently living and working in and around the Atlanta area after relocating from Los Angeles.
Legal issues[]
In July 2017, Carter was arrested for domestic abuse charges after arguing with his girlfriend outside of the Los Angeles International Airport and then grabbing her by her backpack and pulling her out of the terminal. In August, it was announced that Carter would not face domestic abuse charges.
Carter punched a driver in Gretna, Scotland during his concert tour in February 2018. He was subsequently fined £800 after a trial. Carter was arrested on April 3, 2020 on drug and gun charges. He was released on bond the following day.
Health issues[]
In August 2018, Carter stated via Twitter that he had been diagnosed with asthma. He was later seen with an inhaler.
Discography[]
Main article: Playboi Carti discography
- Playboi Carti (2017)
- Die Lit (2018)
- Whole Lotta Red (2020)
- I AM MUSIC (2024)
Awards and nominations[]
BET Hip Hop Awards[]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2017 | Playboi Carti | Best New Hip Hop Artist | Nominated |
Playboi Carti | Best Mixtape | Nominated |